After the Finale
by StargateChloe
Summary: Evelyn finds a the DVD.


All the guests had gone home. All the leftover food had been put away. All the help had been paid. The Powell Mansion was as spotless as it was when they woke up this morning. And yet, there is a mess. A huge one. It not one that any maid can clean up. Two people have been murdered in that house. Both were during parties. Evelyn was twirling a lock of hair between her fingers as she contemplated the events of the past few days. That morning, she was at a lawyer's office, negotiating with Adrian who would get what in the divorce settlement. By dinner time, they were planning exactly how they were going to take down Phillipe Delatour.

Truth be told, she was a little taken aback when Adrian protested the divorce. She thought he would be celebrating. It was all he wanted when Barrett first died. That's how his disgusting little hobby started. He couldn't bare to touch her, but he was still a man. Adrian had always been like that, finding ways to bend the rules without actually breaking them.

Careful not to wake Adrian, Evelyn snuck out of bed, put her robe on, and wandered throughout the house. She wandered past the study where, not one, but two murders have now been committed. She always wondered why, out of all the rooms in their huge house, both she and Adrian were drawn to that particular room. There were certainly other rooms that were more opulent. It wasn't until after Flora's murder that the two of them seemed to be constantly spending time there to the exclusion of the rest of the house. Evelyn figured that Adrian felt closer to Flora in that room, and Evelyn felt closer to Adrian.

Evelyn's mind turned back to the moment that those maids back up Adrian's story. Why would they do that? What benefit could it possibly be to three maids to back up the lie of someone that none of them even liked? Was it really coincidence that she found Marisol and Phillipe together? In the same room that Adrian uses as part of his disgusting little hobby, nonetheless? Evelyn's intuition told her it was no coincidence at all. She went up to the entrance to Adrian's secret chamber and took a deep breath before pushing the large vase aside to open it. She walked over to the camera and looked inside the DVD slot. Just as she had suspected, there was a DVD inside the camera. Adrian was extremely meticulous about his equipment, so she doubted he was the last user. She took the DVD out and took it over to the computer.

The facts that came out of the conversation between Marisol and Phillipe were astonishing. She and Adrian knew that Marisol had a hidden agenda for a while, but neither of them could have possibly guessed this. Evelyn tried to imagine what it would have been like if Barrett had been in that situation. She would have been lying if she said she wouldn't have gone to the same lengths to get him out of trouble. Evelyn must have watched the clip at least a thousand times. It got to where she had the dialogue memorized.

She heard footsteps. Adrian's. She listened carefully to determine whether he was walking towards or away from where she was and heaved a sigh of relief when the footsteps got fainter and fainter. It was Sunday morning, so he would probably go to the study to read the paper. Of course, Adrian would be very interested in seeing this clip, but Evelyn felt that She took the DVD out of the computer and put it in a jewel case she found in a drawer and made sure that all of Adrian's equipment was exactly as he would leave it. She then made her way to the bedroom, careful not to get caught by Adrian. She put the DVD in her purse and made her way to the sitting room.

As soon as Adrian left to go golfing, she started digging through the cupboards by his desk. She managed to find where he kept his "Flora Box," things that reminded him of Flora. It wasn't easy looking through that box. She found photographs of them, some of them not the most tasteful. and found the article about that waiter. She was aghast when she saw his last name. Of course! The boy didn't look at all Hispanic, and yet, he has a Hispanic last name. She remembered Olivia making some comment about it, but she brushed it off.

She went over to her own computer and did a search on the name, Marisol Suarez. The first website on the list was from USC for the website of a Dr. Marisol Suarez. Evelyn clicked on it and Marisol's picture was right there. Evelyn was completely flabbergasted. She perused some of Marisol's writings and found that she and her former maid had a lot more in common than she originally thought.

The next morning, Evelyn canceled her appointment with the broker, claiming personal emergency. In fact, she canceled everything she had planed for the entire morning and drove over to the USC campus. She stood in front of the English building, trying as hard as she could to muster the courage to go inside. She wasn't quite sure how Marisol would react. Would she yell and scream? Would she throw Evelyn off the campus? It would be poetic justice if she did. The redhead kept staring at the double doors for several more moments. Finally, she took a deep breath and opened one of the doors. As soon as she was completely in the building, she heard a familiar voice. She leaned in and looked.

"Okay, Mariana, I see your point, but you have to remember that this was written before women even got the right to vote. For its time, it is very-" Marisol stopped mid-sentence. Her eyes and connected with Evelyn's. She took a swig from her bottle of water and then looked at her phone. "Ladies and gents, I am going to dismiss class early today." All the students gasped. Evidently, this was not something that Professor Suarez did very often. Actually, this was a first for her.

Evelyn tried to get out of the building as quickly as she could, but as she approached the door, she heard the most blood-chilling sound.

"Evelyn?" Marisol called out. Evelyn froze as though Marisol had just poured a bucket of ice water on her. Slowly, Evelyn turned around.

"What are you doing here?" Marisol asked.

Evelyn straightened up. "You left something at my house the other night."

"I did?"

"Yes. I presume you want it returned." Evelyn raised an eyebrow.

Once they were in Marisol's office, she offered Evelyn a seat. "So, what is it that I left?" Marisol was hoping and praying it wasn't a DVD.

Evelyn sat tall and proper in her chair. She reached into her purse and produced a DVD. Marisol gasped.

"So, this is why you were so eager to work for us." She held up the DVD and had a stern look on her face."

Marisol sighed. "Look, I know that coming to your house under false pretenses was wrong, but-"

"I understand. If it had been Barrett, I most certainly would have done the exact same thing. I just wish you would have told me. I could have helped you."

"Really? You honestly think you would have helped me?"

Evelyn took a deep breath and thought for a moment. Marisol was probably right in doubting Evelyn's last statement. "I at least like to think I might have. Honestly, I don't know. Protecting Adrian's reputation has always been my number one priority."

"So, even with everything Adrian does, why are you still with him?"

"Did I ever tell you how Barrett died?"

"So, you're not going to answer my question, are you?"

"What's said in this office stays in this office, right? You're not going to run and gossip to the other maids like you ran and gossiped to Taylor?"

"I wasn't just gossiping to Taylor. I needed a particular DVD to prove that Flora was raped. And for the record, I wasn't expecting Michael to come over and attack Adrian."

"Well, you don't know Michael Stappord very well, then. Let's just say that as far as his marriage with Olivia is concerned, you probably only know one side of the story."

"Olivia is a total nutcase. You saw how she acted at the birthday party."

"Yeah, and have you ever been through a divorce?"

"As a matter of fact, I have. He left me for a waitress, and I said, 'good riddance'."

"You must not have really loved him."

Marisol thought about her statement for a moment. "Maybe I did. Maybe I didn't. Why does it even matter? You never did answer my question. Why are you still with Adrian?"

"That is a very good question with a very complicated answer. You know, I was actually in the process of divorcing him when…"

"When what?" Marisol asked.

"We were in a lawyer's office, negotiating a divorce settlement, and one of the other attorneys announced that Taylor had been shot. I fell apart. It was like Barrett had been killed all over again. But then, Adrian saw me. The attorneys were trying to get back to deliberations, but we were too busy comforting each other."

"So, you've since changed your mind about the divorce?"

"Honestly? I really don't know. On one hand, I often wonder what it would be like to be with someone who really cherishes me. On the other, I'm so scared that I'll just wind up a lonely old woman. Besides, no one else out there understands me quite like Adrian does." Tears were beginning to well up in her eyes. "I should go now." She whispered as she stood up.

"Hey, Evelyn?" Marisol called out as Evelyn was heading to the door.

"Yes?"

"You know, my offer still stands."

"You still want to come and clean my house?"

"No, not that offer. The one about conversation."

"Oh. Well, maybe some other time."


End file.
